Work holder attachment for easels



Sept. 16, 1952 Filed Aug. 15, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

74 55472; azz zm Patented Sept. 16, 1952 UNITED STATES ?ATENT OFFICE WORK HOLDER ATTACHMENT FOR EASELS William G. Clayton, La Crosse, Wis.

Application August 15, 1949, Serial No. 110,425

4 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for facilitating the retouching of photographic negatives and prints and particularly to a device for adjustably holding such work while protecting it from damage during the retouching, the device being readily attachable to easels including those having a transparent portion or window through which a negative may be illuminated from the back during the retouching.

It is an object of my invention to provide an improved device of the class described comprising a shield formed with an aperture through which the retouching may be performed and means for resiliently retaining the shield in contact with the work on the easel, the shield constituting a support or rest for the hand and wrist of the operator engaged in the retouching and permitting ready adjustment of the position of the work as the retouching progresses, while protecting the work from damage such as the soiling resulting from contact with the operators hands or surface scratches caused by movement of the work in contact with the easel surface.

The invention also includes certain novel features of construction whereby the attachment and the several members thereof are made adjustable to best suit the convenience and preference of any particular operator whereby retouching work of high quality is facilitated.

Referring to the accompanying drawing which illustrates my invention by Way of example and not for the purpose of limitation:

Figure 1 is a central vertical section showing a preferred embodiment of my invention in place on an easel of common type;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view showing the device on the easel and in an operative position in relation to a negative to be retouched;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing a transparent filler disk for the plate aperture, and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing an easel of common type provided with an alternate form of attaching means for the holder.

In the drawing, the numeral 1 indicates a photographers easel having a suitable leg 8 and and window 9 through which the work may be illuminated from the back. This window comprises a pane of glass set flush with the front surface of the easel to afford a working surface during retouching of negatives and other work.

My attachment for such easels comprises a thin, flat plate in adapted to overlie the window 9 and adjacent working surface of the easel and formed to be attached to the easel in various positions to suit the convenience and preference of any particular artist. One suitable form of attaching means for the plate 10 comprises a pair of bolts II which project from the front of the easel and are fitted with wing nuts I2 adapted to engage the front of the plate [0 at the sides of parallel, vertically elongated slots [3 formed in the plate. These slots extend to the upper edge of the plate so that the latter may be passed between the wing nuts and easel face to attach the device to the easel. The wing nuts are merely tightened to hold the plate It in any desired position on the easel. An alternate form of attaching device comprises a pair of pins l-l (Fig. 5) projecting from the front of the easel to engage the plate l0 when inserted in a pair of perforations 15 formed in the plate IQ, these perforations being arranged in vertical rows to afiord the desired range of adjustment.

A circular aperture I6 is formed centrally in the plate It and a negative I! to be retouched may be placed on the plate [0 with the areas to be retouched over or in registry with the aperture is so that such area may be properly illuminated from the back of the easel through the window 9 and aperture I5. As an alternative to placing the negative upon the plate I0, the latter may be made shorter and the negative may be placed directly in contact with the working surface of the easel in overlapping relation to the window 9.

To hold the negative in any desired position on the plate l0 or easel surface, I provide a shield. indicated generally by the numeral l8, which is spring biased to engage the front face of the negative and to press it against the plate In or easel surface. The shield I8 is formed with an aperture I9 which is normally disposed in registry with the aperture 16 and through which the retouching Work may be performed on a negative held between the shield and easel. Projecting at one side of the aperture [9 is a hand rest portion 20 of the shield upon which the hand of the operator is placed while the fingers of the hand are employed in the retouching Work.

The shield I8 is carried by the lower end of an arm 2 I, the upper end of which is connected by a hinge 22 to the upper edge portion of the plate I0 so that the arm, together with the shield, may be oscillated to and from the face of the easel. A spring 23 is operatively connected to the upper end portion of the arm 2! to bias it toward the plate It and easel, this spring being designed to apply the desired gripping pressure through the shield to the negative ll. As indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, the shield and arm 2| may be oscillated outward from the front of the plate to permit the negative to be inserted or removed from its retouching position between the shield and plate In or between the shield and easel in case the plate is not extended between the shield and easel surface.

As best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, a clamp is provided for connecting the lower end portion of the arm 2! to the shield l8 and to permit adjustment of the angular position of the shield and hand rest 2i} relative to the arm 2|. This clamp comprises a bolt 24 having its head countersunk in the shield l8 and projecting from the front of the shield through an arcuate slot 25 in the shield.

This arcuate slot is concentric with the aperture 7 I9 and a wing nut 26 is threaded on the bolt 2 1 to clamp the arm 2| in frictional engagement with the shield in any desired position of adjustment. Thus the shield and hand rest 20 may be secured in any desired angular position relative to the arm 2i Within a range of approximately 180 degrees. This makes it easy to adjust the angular position of the hand rest to suit the convenience and preference of any artist or operator. Thus thehand rest 29 may be clamped inthe vertical position shown in Fig. 2 or any angular position to the right or left within the range of adjustment permitted by the slot 25.

To protect the negatives or other work against damage, the front and back faces of the shield l8 and hand rest 20 are provided with a covering of soft, absorbent material, e. g. felt, such covering being indicated by the numeral 18a in Fig. 3. The covering may be adhered to the surfaces of the shield by a suitable adhesive.

Some artists prefer to retouch with the negative or other work slightly spaced from the backing afforded by the window 9. To accommodate such artists, the work is placed over the aperture I6 so that the spacing of the work from its backing is determined by the thickness of the plate. It. For other artists who prefer a solid backing for the negatives, I provide a transparent. filler disk 21 (Fig. 4) which fits accurately in the aperture IE and has uniform thickness equal to. that of the plate In so that the portion of the negative on which the retouching is bein performed may be supported on the disk 27' confined in the aperture IE while the work is performed through the aperture l9. 7

In operation, the plate In is mounted at the desired elevation on the easel 1, being attached thereto by the use of either the pins M (Fig. and perforations or the bolt ll engaging the plate i9 adjacent to the parallel slots I3. The angular position of the. shield l8 and hand rest is adjusted by means of the bolt 24 to suit the particular operator and then negative H to he retouched is placed between the shield l8 and plate H3, or between the shield and. easel surface, and is resiliently held in the desired position by the shield. Retouching is then performed through the aperture IS with the hand of the operator resting on the portion 2e of the shield so that the negative is protected against perspiration from the hand of the operator orother soiling. As the work progresses the negative is rotated or moved about on its supporting surface with a minimum of effort and in the most convenient position for the operator.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. For an easel having a translucent area, a flat opaque plate adapted to overlie the front face of the easel and to cover said/translucent area of the easel, means for attaching said plate to the easel, said plate having a front face for supporting the work during retouching and. being formed with an aperture overlying the. translucent area of the easel through which the work may he illuminated, a translucent filler removably fitting in said aperture, a shield disposed to overlie said front face of the plate for holdingthe work thereon, said shield having a portion for contact with the work which is substantially smaller in area than the work to be retouched and having an aperture through which retouching may be performed on work held between said shield and plate, the aperture in said shield being normally ,shield carried by said arm and movable therewith to and from the work supporting surface of the easel for holding a negative to be retouched thereon, said shield having an aperture through which retouching may be performed on a negative held between said shield and easel surface and a major portionof said shield projecting at a side of said aperture and having an area adapted to afford a rest for the hand and wrist of the operator engaged in the retouching through said aperturea 3. For an easel, a plate adapted to overlie the front face of the easel,- means for attaching said plate in selected positions on the easehan arm hingedly connected to said plate at one end, a shield carried by the opposite end of said arm and movable therewith to and from the work supporting surface of the easel for holding a negative to be ret'ouched thereon, said shield being formed with an aperture through which retouching may be performed on a negative held by said shield on the easel, a major portion of said shield projecting at aside of said aperture and having an area adapted to afford a rest for the hand and wrist of the operator during the retouching operation, and clamping means connecting said shield to said arm and permitting angular adjustment of said rest portion of the shield relative to said arm.

4. For an easel having a translucent area, a flat opaque plate adapted to overlie the front face of the easel and to cover said translucent area of the easel, means for attaching said plate to the easel, said plate having afront face for supporting the work during retouching andbeing formed. with an aperture overlying the trans lucent area of the easel through which the work may be illuminated, a shield disposed to overlie said front face of the plate andto. hold the work thereon, said shield having an aperture through which retouching may be performed on work held between said shield and plate, a portion of said shield projecting at one side of said. aperture and having an area adapted to afford a rest for the hand and wrist of. the operator and. means movably connecting said shield to said plate.

WILLIAM G; CLAYTO-l l- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 603,765 Harding May 10, 1898 1,296,432 Russell Mar. 4, 1919 

